


Be it Moon or Sun

by Singofsolace



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Assassin!AU, Assassination Attempt(s), Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kidnapping, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:15:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singofsolace/pseuds/Singofsolace
Summary: After a failed assassination attempt on the life of Faustus Blackwood, Lilith must try again to kill him before he gains anymore power. But when her orders change and Lilith is told to kidnap the beautiful Lady Blackwood instead, can Lilith put aside her attraction long enough to get the job done?Written in response to the Madam Spellman May prompt: "Masks"
Relationships: Faustus Blackwood/Zelda Spellman, Zelda Spellman/Lilith, Zelda Spellman/Mary Wardwell | Madam Satan | Lilith
Comments: 15
Kudos: 66
Collections: Madam Spellman May





	Be it Moon or Sun

**Author's Note:**

> The Assassin!AU, as promised. Please let me know what you think. As always, depending on the response to this chapter, I might just continue it! Your comments are what drive me to keep going.
> 
> The title comes from Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew," when Petruchio insists the sun is really the moon, and eventually Kate responds:  
> "...be it moon, or sun, or what you please;  
> And if you please to call it a rush-candle,  
> Henceforth I vow it shall be so for me." 
> 
> Content Warning: There are some dark themes in this piece. Take heed of the tags on the fic before reading.

“Is the target in view?”

Lilith lined up her scope, searching the crowd for Faustus Blackwood, Duke of Gehenna—and future Emperor, if whispers of his obsession with power were to be believed.

“Not yet,” Lilith said into the radio on her shoulder, trying to keep the exhaustion out of her voice. Lucifer had her doing 24-hour surveillance on the Duke for two days now. She didn’t know how much more her body—or her patience—could take. She was perched on the roof of a church (ironically enough) which stood opposite the new building that had drawn a sizeable crowd.

After taxing his subjects to within an inch of their lives, Lord Blackwood was set to make a public appearance at the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new, state-of-the-art Hospital of Judas. The opening of the hospital was too little, too late, as his public health policies and outright negligence had led to the deaths of over 50,000 of his subjects in the past four months alone.

A virus had swept through the nation, sparing no man, woman, or child that came into contact with it. It appeared to be airborne, but even so, Lord Blackwood refused to take the issue seriously. He insisted it would all blow over quickly, and then Gehenna would rise from the ashes a more powerful empire. He once said that sacrifices had to be made for the survival of the “pack.” Herd immunity at the cost of the elderly, the immunocompromised, and everyone in between.

Killing Faustus Blackwood wasn’t exactly a hardship.

Finally, a limo arrived, pulling up directly in front of the hospital. The crowd parted like a sea, eager to get a glimpse of the Duke and his wife. All Lilith could think as she looked across the crowd was that in two weeks’ time, the death count would spike once more—and all because Blackwood didn’t believe in a science, but rather in mysticism.

“The first clean shot you get, take it,” said Lucifer, his voice a harsh whisper, lest he be overheard. He was standing among the crowd so that he could act as eyes on the ground.

It was an easy thing to say, but nearly impossible to do. Really, _Lucifer_ should be the one sitting on top of a dilapidated church, freezing down to his bones, waiting for the opportunity to assassinate the soon-to-be Emperor in front of a crowd that was at least 1,000-strong.

As the limo door entered the range of her gun, Lilith let out a long, steady breath. She needed to focus. It was almost time. The doors opened to reveal the Duchess first, holding—

“Son of a bitch—”

“What is it, Lilith?”

Lilith’s eyes widened at the woman in her scope. She was the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen, with golden-red curls falling about her shoulders, and striking green eyes that nearly made Lilith drop her gun when they looked up in her general direction.

“Lilith, what the hell is going on?”

The woman’s beauty wasn’t the cause of her foul language, however. It was the big bundle in the woman’s arms, swaddled tight against the chill. Blackwood, too, was holding a child as he rounded the limo.

“Lilith, answer me, you worthless whore—”

“Lucifer, _look._ ”

“I _am_ looking. Take the bloody shot.”

 _But the shot isn’t clear,_ Lilith wanted to say, but she knew it would make no difference to Lucifer, who was used to their missions having collateral damage. Lord and Lady Blackwood stood so close together, Lilith couldn’t promise that she wouldn’t miss the Duke altogether and accidentally assassinate his wife, who was of very little use to them—particularly if she were dead. Not only that, but if she took the shot now, there was every possibility that she’d hit a baby. Lilith might not have a maternal bone in her body, but she wasn’t particularly interested in murdering infants.

“I’m not going to assassinate him while he’s holding a _baby_ ,” hissed Lilith, her mouth going dry as the Blackwoods took to the podium.

“Welcome, welcome, my brothers and sisters,” said Blackwood, his voice booming over the crowd. The baby in his arms began to wail at the loud noise, shaking the teddy bear in his fist in protest. “It seems my son, Judas, doesn’t yet appreciate the hospital being dedicated to his name. Wife,” Blackwood beckoned to Lady Blackwood with a commanding gesture, “take the child while I give my address.”

The woman did as she was told, relieving him of his tiny burden so that he could continue his grandstanding. Lilith tuned the speech out, unable to tear her eyes from the woman standing hardly a foot behind and to the right of her husband. Lilith wouldn’t exactly call it a clean shot, but it was certainly better—

“If you don’t kill him, I will,” growled Lucifer. From her position on the roof, she spotted Lucifer immediately, near the front of the crowd. He was pulling a pistol out of his jacket. If he shot from that distance, the whole operation would be blown.

Steeling herself, Lilith pulled the trigger. It was a perfect shot—that is, it would’ve been, if the baby Judas hadn’t chosen that moment to toss his stuffed animal at his father’s feet. Blackwood bent to pick it up, causing the bullet to whiz right over his head.

Chaos erupted in the crowd. Immediately, guards converged on the Blackwoods to protect them.

“You useless cunt, Lilith! What have you done?!” Lucifer shouted into his radio. “The operation is blown. I’ll see you back at headquarters.”

His tone held the promise of a painful punishment for her failure, but as Lilith retreated into the church’s bell tower for safety, all she could think about was the look on Lady Blackwood’s face when the bullet grazed her shoulder.

* * *

_Six Months Later_

Lilith always knew the life of an assassin wouldn’t be an easy one, but Lucifer had left her little choice. It was either that or whoring, and Lucifer made for an even worse pimp than he did a hitman. They were lucky she was such a good shot, or they would’ve been caught back when a hit was ordered on Edward Spellman.

Edward Spellman, whose political ambition was seen as a danger by the powers-that-be. Edward Spellman, who thought he could overthrow thousands of years of tradition with talks of doing away with the monarchy. Edward Spellman, who found himself on the wrong end of Lilith’s gun, pleading for the lives of his wife and daughter.

Killing people was as easy as crooking a finger and pressing three times.

At least, it used to be. Ever since Lilith had seen Lady Blackwood’s beautiful green eyes contorted in pain as she tried to protect the babies in her arms from the bullet meant for her husband, Lilith hadn’t been able to sleep. She didn’t understand how the Duchess was any different from every other innocent casualty Lucifer had ordered eliminated over the years… but _something_ about Zelda Blackwood was keeping her awake at night.

This time, they planned a less public assassination attempt. Lilith was hiding in a tree above a winding country road in the middle of the forest. She felt like goddamn Robin Hood, leaning against the trunk of the tree with her gun at her side, waiting for the royal convoy to pass them.

Speaking of passing them—

“Slippery son of a bitch,” Lilith cursed beneath her breath, lowering her gun as several cars ornamented with the exact same diplomatic flags neared her position. Usually, the Duke’s car was clearly marked. It seemed his security team had wised up since that day at the hospital. How was she to know which car held the Duke? She wasn’t about to start aimlessly shooting—Lucifer had made it very clear that she couldn’t afford to make another mistake.

Just when Lilith thought she ought to reposition herself closer to the Blackwood’s summer estate, the window of the last car rolled down far enough for a stuffed animal to be dangled out. This teddy bear was distinguished from the fateful one that dropped six months ago, as a pink bow was tied around its neck instead of a brown one.

Curious, Lilith used her agility training to launch herself through the trees, trying to keep up with the last car. While it may not hold Blackwood himself, it was certainly promising to know where the children were in the lineup.

After about a half mile of following the entourage down the winding forest road, Lilith saw the teddy bear slip out of the child’s hand and fall to the ground. Really, what was it with these children and their inability to hold onto their toys?

Lilith paused in the trees above the fallen stuffed animal, perplexed. Would the car turn around? Could Lilith work some sort of angle by taking it and showing up at their estate with toy in hand, claiming to have found it while walking along the road?

“Lilith? Come in.”

Lilith sighed before holding down the button on her radio. “ _What_ , Lucifer?”

“I’ve gotten new orders from the Council.”

Lilith watched in rapt attention as the car stopped and a woman stepped out. Not just any woman—the woman who had been plaguing her dreams (but more often _her nightmares_ ) for half a year. She was wearing a red dress with gold trim. A scarf was wrapped around her head and neck, obscuring the lower half of her face. Aviator glasses completed the image as Lady Blackwood retraced the car’s path to where the teddy bear had been lost.

“New orders?” asked Lilith, confused. They’d had the same orders for nearly a year now: eliminate Blackwood by any means necessary—and don’t get caught.

“The target has changed.”

Lilith’s eyes widened as Lady Blackwood lifted the bear and brushed off some of the dirt. They couldn’t possibly mean—?

“Lucifer, _no_ —”

“I’m going to create a distraction. Grab Lady Blackwood and take her back to HQ. _Now_.”

Lilith couldn’t believe her ears. She couldn’t possibly kidnap the future Empress of Gehenna with her children sitting in the car up ahead—

“ _Now_ , Lilith, or I swear I’ll take her myself—and she won’t like all the _ways_ I take her,” threatened Lucifer, making Lilith’s stomach pitch and roll. Confirming that her mask was firmly in place hiding her identity, Lilith let out a shaky breath through the fabric and dropped out of the trees as quietly as she could.

Lucifer also dropped down from his hiding place, but rather than go for the Duchess, he shot the driver of the car, and released a smoke bomb in front of the limo, all within a matter of seconds.

It was now or never.

Zelda Blackwood didn’t have time to react. Lilith came up behind her, immediately grabbing her arms and twisting them behind her back. She had cuffs on each wrist in record time, as well as a gag shoved beneath the scarf and deep into the woman’s mouth to stop her screaming. Dragging her into the trees, Lilith grunted as the lady fought against her like a tiger.

“Stop struggling. I’m not going to hurt you,” whispered Lilith, deciding things would be faster if she just threw the woman over her shoulder. She continued to kick and scream through her gag as Lilith sprinted as fast as she could, deep into the forest.

As she ran, Lucifer hailed her on the radio. “I’m compromised. You’re on your own to get her back to HQ.”

Lilith cursed, not bothering to radio her confirmation. She didn’t even want to do this in the first place, and now she had to do it _alone_? Leave it to Lucifer to get himself captured.

It was nearing nightfall when Lilith finally made the decision to stop. She wasn’t about to wander aimlessly through an unfamiliar forest at night when she had all this weight to carry.

Not that the Duchess was heavy—she wasn’t—but damn, the woman knew how to kick.

“We’ll stop here,” said Lilith as she came to a halt near a large boulder that would give them decent coverage. She dropped the woman unceremoniously to the ground, tired of all her struggling. “You know, if you’d just stopped wiggling, we might’ve been able to make it to a real bed before the sun set.”

Lady Blackwood looked up at her with a mixture of anger and fear. Somewhere along the way, she’d lost her aviator sunglasses. Her green eyes were even more enchanting up close. The scarf had fallen off of her head and was tangled like a noose around her neck. The issue of breathing was further complicated by the makeshift gag Lilith had shoved in the woman’s mouth.

“Sorry about that,” said Lilith, reaching to loosen the scarf. Lady Blackwood flinched back and away, banging her head on the boulder to avoid Lilith’s touch. “Seriously, lady, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to make sure you don’t die on me.”

Lady Blackwood wasn’t consoled, however, and flinched violently to the right as Lilith’s fingers made contact with the scarf. Unable to balance herself with her hands tied behind her back, Lady Blackwood fell to the side and hit the ground with a resounding _thump._

“Alright, listen,” said Lilith, taking off her mask. Lady Blackwood’s eyes flittered across Lilith’s face, as if trying to place her. “I’m not going to play this game with you. Kidnapping aside, we don’t have to spend the rest of the journey like this. So, I’m going to take out the gag in your mouth, and you’re _not going to scream_ , because we’re far enough away from the road, no one could possibly hear you.”

Lilith bent down and tore the gag out of the woman’s mouth in one quick motion, so she didn’t have time to flinch away. Lady Blackwood wheezed, loud and wet, which made Lilith frown.

“Don’t tell me you got the virus your husband was so sure would just ‘go away?’”

The wheezing continued, so Lilith took out her hipflask. She wished she’d brought water, not whiskey, but they’d passed a stream not too long ago if the need became dire later on. After pulling Lady Blackwood up by the arms, Lilith uncapped the flask, took her her gently by the chin, and tipped the alcohol into the woman’s mouth with the hope of stopping the wheezing. Lady Blackwood sputtered, trying to spit it out, but Lilith kept pouring. If nothing else, it might at the very least calm the woman down. Once a shot or two had mostly made it down her throat, Lilith let go of Lady Blackwood’s chin, a little voice in the back of her head saying that force-feeding the woman alcohol was not one of her better ideas.

Eventually, the wheezing stopped. Lady Blackwood’s eyes had teared up, making Lilith feel like a real piece of shit. This wasn’t how she planned this assignment to go. She was a killer, not a kidnapper. Lilith wasn’t accustomed to having to deal with living victims.

“Why— _why_ did you take me—from my child?” Lady Blackwood said, her voice hoarse from all the coughing and screaming she’d done through her gag.

That was the question, wasn’t it?

“It wasn’t my idea, believe me,” said Lilith, plopping down opposite her captive and taking a swig of whiskey herself. Lady Blackwood watched her with narrowed eyes.

“You—you did this—and you don’t even know why?”

“Oh, I know why,” said Lilith, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “The Duke’s the real target. You’re just… a way to get to him.”

“Am I?” said Zelda, before going into another wheezing fit. Lilith scrambled to her feet, concerned.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take off that scarf?”

“What I want—” said Zelda breathlessly, “is to go back—to Leticia. She’ll be—beside herself.”

Lilith furrowed her brow. She’d been briefed on the Blackwood family—she knew that Leticia was Blackwood’s daughter—but why was the girl the only person Zelda mentioned? Surely, it would be her _husband_ who would be beside himself, and not a child who couldn’t even form a sentence yet?

“I’m afraid I can’t let you go back. The people I work for—” Lilith shook her head to keep unwanted thoughts away, “they’re not the kind of people you want to cross. They’re very dangerous men.”

Zelda Blackwood seemed to have caught her breath again. “I’m the Duchess of Gehenna. Surely, committing a crime against _me_ should be of greater concern…?”

“Lady Blackwood—” Lilith began, but she was immediately interrupted.

“Don’t call me that,” the woman said, her eyes darting to the ground.

“What _should_ I call you, then?” said Lilith curiously. This lady was a mystery.

“Zelda. Just Zelda,” her eyes returning to Lilith’s. “And you are?”

“Nice try, lady,” said Lilith, “I mean—Zelda—but I’m not telling you my name. It’s bad enough I took off my mask.”

“I’m glad you did,” said Zelda. Lilith’s heart fluttered strangely for a moment before she saw the look of hate in the woman’s piercing eyes. “I deserve to see the face of the person who plans to hand me off to ‘dangerous men.’”

Shame flooded Lilith’s body. “If it were up to me, kidnapping you would never have been an option.”

“Then let me go,” Zelda said, before adding quickly: “If you let me go now, no one has to know it was you who took me. We can spin the story. You saved me from thugs—from kidnappers—and I would be so grateful that I’d offer you the highest level of protection.”

For a moment, the offer was tempting. But it was hard to imagine a life of freedom—she’d been so long under Lucifer’s control. She wouldn’t know what to do with freedom if she had it.

Not to mention, if Lucifer had been captured, it was highly likely that he was selling her out at this very moment in exchange for a deal.

“You can’t protect me,” said Lilith, shaking her head sadly. “We were able to get to _you,_ weren’t we? And you’re meant to have the highest level of security in the Empire.”

“Even the highest level of security can’t predict a child throwing her teddy bear out the window, and the Duchess walking straight into an ambush,” said Zelda, shifting uncomfortably on her knees. She looked to be in pain, though Lilith was certain she hadn’t intentionally done anything that would hurt the Duchess.

“I can cuff your arms in front of you instead, if you like?” said Lilith, not knowing how to make things right to the extent that she was able.

“I’m not going to run,” said Zelda, her voice suddenly heavy. “It’s getting dark and I’m not in the best condition.”

Lilith looked the woman up and down, searching for injury. “Did I hurt you? It wasn’t my intention.”

“Will you free my hands?” said Zelda, avoiding the question. “You have my word I won’t try to get away. As you said, your people would only find me again.”

Feeling like she was being played for a fool, Lilith acquiesced. The breath of relief was a heavy thing between them, as Zelda rubbed her wrists. That was when Lilith noticed that they were raw and bloody—far more than they should be.

“When… when did _this_ happen?” said Lilith in disbelief, reaching out to grab Zelda’s forearm so that she could examine one of the wounded wrists. “The cuffs weren’t on for that long—they weren’t even that tight!”

Zelda tried to pull her arm away, but gave up when Lilith held firm.

“They’re my husband’s work, not yours,” Zelda said, her voice so quiet Lilith almost missed it.

Whatever Lilith had been expecting, it wasn’t that. She immediately dropped Zelda’s arm, taken aback.

“I know it isn’t my place, but… those marks… they look serious.”

Resigned, Zelda reached up to loosen her scarf. From what Lilith could see as the fabric unraveled, the woman’s neck was also covered in deep ligature marks. When she was done, Zelda met her gaze with a challenge in her eyes.

“So, you see… I don’t think my husband will care one way or the other what happens to me. You and your 'dangerous men'… you’ve made a grave miscalculation.”

Lilith couldn’t stop staring at the marks on the woman’s neck. What the hell had Blackwood done to this woman?

“Are you injured anywhere else?”

Zelda brushed a lock of red hair out of her eyes. “My ribs. But I’m not very well going to remove my clothing for a kidnapper—a _mercenary_.”

Lilith ignored the dig. “Is that why you were wheezing? What’s wrong with your ribs?”

Zelda laughed. It was a hollow, mirthless sound that turned into a hacking cough. “They made the acquaintance of my husband’s boot.”

Lilith cursed like a sailor. Zelda’s eyes widened in surprise and curiosity.

“I’m glad I’m already tasked with his assassination, because if I weren’t, I would be now.”

“You’re an assassin, too?” said Zelda, shivering despite the warmth still lingering from the heat of the day.

“Are you cold?” said Lilith, shucking off her jacket before remembering she had a lot of weapons in the pockets. One by one, she shoved the various weapons into the many pockets sewed into her pants before offering it to Zelda, who didn’t take it. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, but you can absolutely trust that I don’t want you dead, since I went to so much trouble to kidnap you instead of kill you.”

Zelda hesitated a moment longer before taking the jacket. “You’re really not very good at this, are you?”

“Good at what?” said Lilith before walking a few feet away to look for kindling.

“Kidnapping.”

Lilith looked up with several pieces of dried-out wood in her arms. She gave Zelda a toothy, sideways grin. “Well, you’re not very good at _being_ kidnapped.”

“Touché,” said Zelda as she put on the jacket. Lilith couldn’t help but stare at how… _cute_ the Duchess looked in it.

 _Oh shit_ , Lilith thought as she gathered more wood for a fire. She was already losing perspective. This woman was a target, and nothing more.

But as darkness fell and the fire burned, Lilith felt a funny flutter in her stomach when Zelda took off her jacket to use it as a pillow. This woman was something else. Most people would be panicking in this situation, but not the Duchess. No. The Duchess was lying next to the fire, calm as can be, pressing the side of her face into Lilith’s jacket, clearly intent on sleeping.

The thought that the woman might not get much peaceful sleep at home occurred to Lilith, as her eyes wandered to Zelda’s raw and bloody wrists. It made her vaguely nauseous to think the Duchess might be safer with a trained assassin than with her husband.

Tearing her gaze away so that she was looking deep into the flames, Lilith realized she was in big trouble. She couldn’t possibly hand this woman over to the Council. Lucifer had been her handler for decades now, subjecting her to unimaginable cruelty, but he frequently threatened to hand her over to Council for punishment instead. She didn’t know what, exactly, they did… but if it was worse than the horrors Lucifer visited upon her, she wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

Surely, the Council wouldn’t hurt Zelda? She was a valuable bargaining chip, not only because she was married to the future Emperor of Gehenna, but also because she had close personal knowledge of the late Edward Spellman and his faction of antiroyalists. The information she could provide would be invaluable. The only question was whether she would give it willingly or not. If it came down to coercion… Lilith shuddered to think how that would end for her new companion.

More pressing was what would happen to _Lilith herself_ if she failed to deliver the Duchess, as ordered. Lucifer might’ve been captured by the Duchess’ guard, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t find a way out—slippery snake that he was.

One thing was certain, no matter what happened: Lilith was well and truly fucked.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: While it seems a bit silly to credit Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa as the owner of these characters, considering he himself stole/borrowed/recreated them, let's give it a go. 
> 
> I do not own these characters. They belong to Archie Comics, which sent Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa himself a cease and desist for his blatant fanfic-turned-play, "Archie's Weird Fantasy," not too long ago. Please do not sue me; I am an unemployed adjunct professor writing fanfiction purely for entertainment purposes. I have very little money, but a whole lot of love for complicated female characters. While I do not wish to be sued, I would very much enjoy being given a position as show-runner for writing some great fanfic. I eagerly await your email.


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